Man Utd vs Southampton: Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Key Man & Prediction

Manchester United welcome high-flying Southampton to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon looking to close the gap on the early-season pace setters.

The defending champions find themselves sitting ninth in the table and six points off league leaders Arsenal after a tough start to life under new boss David Moyes, but they will be hoping to make up some ground this weekend.

The Red Devils came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1 before the international break with youngster Adnan Januzaj marking his debut with a well taken brace, but that followed a disappointing defeat to West Brom last time out at home so Moyes will be looking to put things right tomorrow.

However, United are up against an in-form Southampton side that are currently sitting in fourth place after an excellent start to the season.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have recorded three wins on the bounce and have conceded just two goals all season, so it’s not going to be an easy ride for United by any stretch of the imagination.

Team News

Moyes has been boosted by the return of Rio Ferdinand with the defender expected to be recalled to the starting line-up after recovering from a slight groin problem.

Attacker Januzaj is likely to retain his place after his goal-scoring exploits last time out but Ashley Young, Nani and Shinji Kagawa are all pushing for starts.

Tom Cleverley is out after returning early from international duty with a calf problem, while Wayne Rooney is expected to continue to support Robin van Persie up front.

Southampton have been boosted by the news that goalkeeper Artur Boruc and defender Luke Shaw are both available despite picking up knocks during the week.

Boruc was forced to miss Poland’s defeat to England on Tuesday with a hamstring problem while Shaw failed to link-up with the England Under-21’s due to illness, but both are expected to feature at Old Trafford.

UPDATE: David Moyes has revealed that Van Persie is a doubt for the game due to a toe problem.

Likely Line-Ups

Key Man

Wayne Rooney: The forward has been in excellent form of late and capped a fine performance for England on Tuesday with a crucial opening goal. We expect Rooney to be at the centre of things this weekend.

Predicted Score

Man Utd 1-0 Southampton:  The Saints have proven they are a tough nut to crack this season but we think United will have enough fire-power to nick this one.

What would be your starting line-up and whats your predicted score? Share your views below.